Texas Tech received high praise as one of 24 public institutions named a "Best Buy School" in the 2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges, school officials announced Friday.

Texas Tech received high praise as one of 24 public institutions named a “Best Buy School” in the 2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges, school officials announced Friday.

The recently published guide designates 49 institutions overall as “Best Buy Schools,” based on the quality of academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance.

Tech President Guy Bailey said he wasn’t surprised by the recognition, as Tech has consistently ranked among the cheapest of its peer institutions.

“Texas Tech has one of the lowest in-state and out-of-state tuitions in the country, making it a great value nationally,” Bailey said in a news release. “We have an outstanding, talented faculty that is dedicated to our mission of producing the very best graduates and securing our positive impact on society.”

Tech had the lowest administrative costs of any emerging research university in Texas in fiscal 2009 and 2010, including the University of Houston, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Dallas. Of the seven emerging institutions, the University of Texas and Texas A&M, Tech ranked eighth in instructional costs per weighted-student credit hour.

Bailey said Tech’s expenditure costs for full-time students was lower than other peer universities in the state, though he did not have specific numbers. A major reason for the low per-student expense rests in lower administrative costs, according to a university news release.

All of the “Best Buy Schools” fall into the inexpensive- or moderate-price category, and most have four- or five-star academic ratings.

The Fiske Guide to Colleges provides an independent perspective on the distinctive personalities of the best and most interesting colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain, according to a Tech news release.

More than 300 schools are highlighted, based on a broad range of subjects, including student body, academics, social life and financial aid.

Edward B. Fiske served for 17 years as education editor of the New York Times, during which time he realized that college-bound students and their families needed better information on which to base their educational choices.

He wrote the best-selling annual, the Fiske Guide to Colleges, to help them.